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Friday, June 20, 2008

Playing With Paper.....

I have been up to my ears in paper art in all my spare time lately. I have been making baby shower invitations, decorations, and gifts, making a wedding gift, and making a scrapbook as a thank you gift. I am enjoying my stint of being enmeshed in paper.Truth be told, I have a passion for paper whether it be writing, wrapping, tissue or crepe, or art paper of any kind. I have a special fondness for handmade papers. Recently on a trip to Florida, I stopped in a favorite scrapbook store where everything is always half price and bought a stack of hand made paper in all thicknesses and textures. My husband thought I was nuts buying so much. I explained to him that I can't get these specific types of paper where we live or in the nearby city. The one store that did carry them is out of business. We only travel to the area of this particular store about every other year so I NEEDED a two year supply! He just shook his head and said he was going to the smoothie shop next door to wait. I let him as I reveled in paper heaven!

Below is a little sampling of what I got. This first one I was particularly excited about, this Mulberry paper is the perfect shade of blue and the materials in the paper reminded me of the pale blue specked eggs that are so popular in crafting these days, perfect for using for egg art!
I love these thick heavy sheets of recycled Mixed Organics. These handmade papers have a natural creamy shading which varies from a bleached out white to cream to tan and are embedded with natural inclusions like coconut fibers, water hyacinth, banana leaf, mango fibers and mulberry fibers, and more. This heavier paper is great for card making. These papers are usually about $3.00 per 12" x 12" sheet. A lot of these papers are made in Italy and Thailand.Ah, and these Mulberry papers are so filmy with an interesting fibrous texture and come is such vivid colors! They are versatile, they have the distinctive feature of easily feathering edges when the paper is wet and torn. I use an artist brush dipped in water to create my tear line and then gently pull apart. These papers come in a huge variety of colors, can be hand painted Batiks, marbles, smooth, textured, tissue, recycled, and mulberry florals. These papers can run from as little as 50 cents for an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet up to $5.00 per sheet for a 12" x 12" sheet. Nepal and Thailand are large producers of these papers.These are also Mulberry papers,even though they are thicker than a traditional Mulberry paper, they are embedded with botanicals. The thickness is due to the layering of paper pulp, fibers and botanicals, then another thin layer of pulp to seal in the botanicals.I also purchased some Indian Cotton Papers in these deep hued colors. The Jungle Green and Red are favorites to use at Christmas time for card making. These papers are produced in India and are usually around $2.50 to $3.00 per sheet.I even got a few Fabric Paper Sheets. This fabric paper is stiff and can be torn, sewn, die-cut , or frayed which lends to a wide variety of uses. This will be my first experience in playing with these.I also picked up a few rubber stamps and a couple of large punches. Purchases made, I headed out for a much needed smoothie with my sweetie.

Here is a sampling of what I have been up to. The beginning pages of a thank you gift book for special friends who have a new blended family. I thought a family album for creating and storing new memories would be a good gift. I am trying to do two pages per day until it is finished. I've had to put it aside this week and will focus on it next week. You can click on photos to enlarge for better viewing.
Please excuse the photo below! I realized after I had loaded it onto my page that I had left the plastic cover one the album and the templates for corner spacing in two of the frames! I thought about retaking the photo but decided you would get the gist even if it is not picture perfect!
Handmade invitations for one of my best friends daughters baby shower,with a sweet little picture of the guest of honor included! I just have to write the shower details in and pop them in the envelopes!I hope you feel inspired to make some paper creations of your own!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

12 comments:

Vee said...

So beautiful...I love papers, too, but resist the urge to buy them because I do so little crafting. But, these would have been very difficult to pass by. One of my niece's friends purchases a strip of decorative paper and decorates her walls with it using it much as you have there on a page only larger. It's always stunning to see.

Cliff and Theresa are going to be so blessed with such a wonderful gift...truly something special. The invitations are so sweet, too.

The recipe cards are scrumptious...Oh my! You are such a talented gal!

The Feathered Nest said...

Sandy, I love paper!! I love the feel of it, I love all of the textures you can get, I love your natural fiber papers here!! What a wonderful idea to use the water line to tear it apart, I love that! Each and every one of your creations is so wonderful, I'm sure that they are going to love those invitations and the book will be such a keepsake for the family you're giving it to. Wishing you a wonderful weekend dear friend, xxoo, Dawn

Karla Cook @ Roads to Everywhere said...

I'm really glad you're posting pictures of your swap projects as you finish them. It is so helpful for inspirational ideas of what to do with mine. I finished the quilt square tonight, and started on the tags. I'll try to post a picture of my quilt square on Sunday or Monday.

Kelli said...

I love crafting with paper too. All of your creations are just gorgeous! Thank you for hosting such a wonderful blog-a-thon!
~Kelli

Kimberly said...

Hello, my name is Kimberly and I am a paper addict. It's been...three hours since I last bought paper.
Of course, my excuse is that I wanted to get a few more pieces to finish up my projects for your art swap. I've learned to just the papers I love and just keep them on hand. The right project always comes along. Most of my own project designs seem to follow in the same color/pattern/styles, so they always get used.
What a fun collection you have!

Beth Leintz said...

Thanks for the peeks at your beautiful paper- there's something just wonderful about those specialty papers.

Anonymous said...

Great stuff.
I like your blog and all your scrappy things.

Look forward to reading more.
I love it!!!! Thank you very much!

smilnsigh said...

Not being creative like you, I don't know much about all your beautiful paper stash. But I love the looks of the old fashioned pink roses and leaves, on the Fabric Paper Sheets. Lovely...

And it reminds me of the wall paper in our front hall. Which has been on for {I won't tell you how long!} a long time. :-)

Mari-Nanci
Smilnsigh

Karla Cook @ Roads to Everywhere said...

I just posted a picture of my quilt square.

AND I have a surprise guest for tomorrow's post!!!

Teresa said...

What beautiful paper...of course you have to stock up when you find things like that! Reading your blog is always such an education. Thank you.

Decor To Adore said...

I love Mulberry papers. When I am out decorating a house I carry plain white candles in a variety of sizes in my supply box. I also keep on hand an assortment of mulberry paper. I rip the right size off, secure it with a bit of hot glue and voila! Custom candles for each decor.

cash advance now said...

Thank you for posting! I’m glad to have a look of those beautiful papers.

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